Ethnicity and conflict in a post-communist world : the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and China

The post-Communist world has seen a dramatic revival of ethnicity and nationalism. The volume explores the contemporary sources, scope and intensity of nationality conflicts in the context of a disintegrating Soviet Empire. The authors address themselves to the resurgence of ethnicity and nationalism within the former Soviet imperium, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Bulgaria and China and examine the consequences of perestroika and glasnost. Central issues involve identity formation, the nature and implications of ethnic and internal conflicts and possible paths toward resolution. Front Matter....Pages i-xx The Future of the Soviet Union: Deconstruction versus Disintegration....Pages 1-40 Inventions and Manifestations of Ethno-Nationalism in and after the Soviet Union....Pages 41-65 Inter-Ethnic Tension in the USSR: A Socio-Psychological Perspective....Pages 66-77 Management of Inter-Ethnic Conflicts in the Soviet Union....Pages 78-88 National Minorities in Estonia....Pages 89-105 Causes of Inter-Ethnic Conflict in Latvia....Pages 106-112 The Azerbaijani Armenian Conflict: Possible Paths towards Resolution....Pages 113-130 Inter-Ethnic Conflict in the Trans-caucasus: A Case Study of Nagorno-Karabakh....Pages 131-140 Internal Conflicts in Soviet Central Asia: Causes and Consequences....Pages 141-150 Inter-Ethnic Conflicts in Central Asia: Social and Religious Perspectives....Pages 151-170 Communism and National Self-Determination in Central Asia....Pages 171-182 The Brewing Ethnic Conflicts in China and Their Historical Background....Pages 183-198 Linguistic Conflicts in Eastern Europe and Their Historical Parallels....Pages 199-208 The Ethnic Conflict In Bulgaria: History and Current Problems....Pages 209-230 National Identity in Post-Communist Hungary....Pages 231-250 Cognitive Adequacy of Sociological Theories in Explaining Ethnic Antagonism in Yugoslavia....Pages 251-270 Back Matter....Pages 271-276 The post-Communist world has seen a dramatic revival of ethnicity and nationalism. Many of these societies are facing a crisis of staggering dimensions, since the movement towards full democracy also has to cope with widespread demands for self-determination and minority protection as well as the consequences of dismantling the totalitarian state. The volume explores the contemporary sources, scope and intensity of nationality conflicts in the post-Communist world. The authors address themselves to the resurgence of ethnicity and nationalism, after perestroika and glasnost, within a disintegrating Soviet Empire. They examine the consequences and effects of the drama currently in progress within the various regions of the former Soviet Union. Central issues explored concern identity formation, the nature and implications of internal conflicts and possible paths toward conflict resolution in these societies. The processes of democratisation and the potential generation of new conflicts in these countries are also examined as is the question of resurgent ethnicity in China.